UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLEt 

Issued VVeekly 
Vol. XIV MARCH 19. 1917 No. 29 

[Entered as second-class matter December II, 1912, at the post ornce at Urbana. Illinois, under the Act of 

Au 8 usl24. 19 \2.) 



AGRICULTURE 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



A STATEMENT OF THE WORK AND NEEDS 
OF THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



FOR THE INFORMATION OF 

THE GOVERNOR 

AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 



Published by the University of Illinois 
Urbana 






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3 7 



AGRICULTURE 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



A STATEMENT OF THE WORK AND NEEDS 
OF THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



Prepared by 

the Dean and Heads of 

Departments 



URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

March, 1917 



CONTENTS 

PACE 
THE STUDENT BODY I 

WHERE THE GRADUATES GO AND WHAT THEY DO 2 

DEPARTMENTS OF— 

AGRONOMY 3 

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 7 

DAIRY HUSBANDRY 15 

HORTICULTURE 19 

HOUSEHOLD SCIENCE 25 

SMITH-LEVER EXTENSION 30 

WHAT THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION NEED 31 



D." Of D. 

APR 2 19W 



This statement is prepared tor the information 
of the Governor and General Assembly to show 
why the Agricultural College and Experiment 
Station are in need of larger resources and of a 
new Agricultural Building. 



The wealth of Illinois is in her soil, and her strength lies in its 
intelligent development.— Draper 



1916 




19J7 



^^^^^^^^^q^^^^^^^^^kSj^M^^Mi^I 



GROWTH IN STUDENT ATTENDANCE-COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1891-1917 



AGRICULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY 
OF ILLINOIS 

E. DAVENPORT, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the 

Agricultural Experiment Station 

THE Agricultural College and Experiment Station were established 
for the advancement of farming and housekeeping and the improve- 
ment of living conditions in the open country. They are organized under 

six departments : 

Agronomy — covering crops, soils, and farm mechanics 

Animal Husbandry — including horses, beef cattle, sheep, swine, meats, 
breeding, and feeding 

Dairy Husbandry — dealing with dairy cattle, dairy farming, milk and it* 
products 

Veterinary' Science — covering the general subject of animal diseases and 
their control 

Horticulture — ranging from orchard fruits and vegetable gardening to 
landscape gardening and floriculture 

Household Science — treating of food, clothing, and shelter from the eco- 
nomic, the artistic, and the sanitary standpoints, especially in regard 
to the home 

Each of these departments is organized to do work along three definite 
lines: (1) instruction of students, (2) investigation of unsolved problems, 
and (3) extension service to the people of the state outside the University. 

Besides these subject departments, there is maintained an extension 
service for young people of the state and a special cooperative demonstration 
service with farmers and housekeepers. 

A brief statement of the work of the departments is given in the 
succeeding pages by the several heads and in the order named. 

THE STUDENT BODY 

Of the 1,201 students registered up to February 23, 1917, 992 come 
from the state of Illinois; 186 from other states; and 23 from foreign 
countries, these latter bringing to the University and the student body a 
rich variety of agricultural practices from other parts of the country and 
the world. The 992 students coming from Illinois represent every county 
of the state except 9. The 209 coming from outside the state represent 36 
states and 15 foreign countries. 

Those coming direct from farms represent an average acreage of 275. 
but many poor boys avail themselves of the college as a means of gratifying 



2 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

their desire to fit themselves for country life. One hundred and twenty-five, 
or 10 percent of the total number, come from Chicago, representing for 
the most part a pronounced and intelligent tide from the city back to the 
land. Investigations show that this latter group of students is not headed 
for the teaching profession or for public jobs, but for the farm, and many 
of them come from land-holding families. It is therefore a type of student 
very much to be desired. 

Of the total number. 1,015 express decided church preferences and 
represent 28 denominations. These students, as well as many not express- 
ing a preference, connect themselves in various ways with local churches, 
the work of the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. and other religious 
organizations. 

WHERE THE GRADUATES GO AND WHAT THEY DO 

There have graduated from the Agricultural College of the University, 
943 students since 1900, and 53 before that date. 

According to the latest available statistics, our graduates are engaged 
as follows: • 

69 percent are actually living upon farms and engaged in farming 

17 permit are in agricultural departments of colleges, experiment sta- 
tions, and high schools 

10 percent arc in occupations allied to farming, such as veterinary 
surgery, landscape gardening, creamery management, etc. 

Less than 4 percent are in occupations not allied to agriculture 

It has been said that the agricultural college is educating away from 
the land. These figures, which are about the same as those published by 
other and similar institutions, show how easy it is for an untruth to gam 
circulation, especially when it is sensational. Clearly, the vast mass of our 
graduates follow the profession for which they are educated, and so far as 
our information «oes, the proportion of non-graduates who return to the 
farm is even greater than these figures show, for the person who starts out 
to be a teacher must take his degree in order even to make a beginning; 
whereas, many farmers are able to take only one or two years of college 
work. 

Nothing is clearer than that the Agricultural College of the University 
of Illinois is accomplishing the purpose for which it was organized. 




EFFECTS OF SOIL TREATMENT 

Clover on Fairfield Experiment Field, 1910. Where manure alone was used, the first crop I shown in 

the photograph) made about one-half ton of foul grass, with but little clover. Where the same 

amount of manure was used with limestone and phosphate, and with no potassium 

salts, the crop made nearly three tons of clean clover hay 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY 

SOILS, FARM CROPS, AND FARM MECHANICS 
Prepared by Cyril G. Hopkins, Head of Department 

''The farm is the basis of nil industry, but for many years this country has made 
the mistake of unduly assisting manufacture, commerce, and other activities that center 
in cities, at the expense of the farm."' 

These are the words of the late James J. Hill, himself a great railroad 
man, personally interested in commerce but fully alive to the meaning of 
agriculture. 

One of the results of the early neglect of agriculture is shown in the 
fact that from 1880 to 1910, a period of one generation, 9,809,834 acres 
of "improved farm land" were agriculturally abandoned in New England. 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, while the total area of land still 
being farmed in 1910 was only 9.216,519 acres in the eigbt states of New 
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
Jersey, Deleware, and Florida. By this wc see that New England and 
three states lying to the west have already abandoned more land than is 
now farmed in seven of the thirteen original states with Florida added. 
This history of agriculture in our older eastern states must not be repeated 
in Illinois if we are to do our share in feeding our increasing population. 

As agriculture is the basic support of all industry, so the fertility of 
the soil, as measured by the production of staple crops, is the foundation 
of all success in agriculture. 

The latest report of the United States Bureau of Census places the 
annual value of all Illinois farm and garden crops at $372,000,000 of which 
the five great staple farm crops — corn, oats, hay, wheat, and potatoes — 
represent $345,000 000, or 93 percent of the total. 

UNIVERSITY WORK IN AGRONOMY 

The Department of Agronomy employs a force of more than forty 
teachers, investigators, and extension workers, besides the office and farm 
helpers. The annual appropriations used aggregate $174,800, of which 
$98,500, or more than half, is applied to the investigation of Illinois soils 
(tho this is less than 1 cent for every 3 acres of Illinois farm land, it is 
much more than any other state is devoting to the study of its soils) : 
$20,000 is available for investigations relating to farm crops; and $56,300 
for the instruction of students and for extension work in the general and 
special courses relating to soil physics and management, soil fertility, soil 
biology, crop production, crop improvement by plant breeding, land drain- 
age, farm machinery, and farm buildings. (In addition, all soil reports, 
bulletins, and circulars relating to Agronomy are published with depart- 
ment funds.) 



4 Agriculture at the Vniver.ti.tii of Illinois 

Investigations arc carried on. not only in the laboratories and on the 
farms at Urbana, but also away from the University, as in the detail soil 
survey (now more than half completed), which is ultimately to cover every 
farm in every county, and on more than forty experiment fields well dis- 
tributed over the entire state on the most extensive and important areas 
of the various soils of Illinois. 

SOIL SURVEY AND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS 

During the last two years, the soil survey has been completed in seven 
more counties, McHenry, Ogle, Grundy, Livingston. Champaign, Crawford, 
and White; the analytical work on trustworthy samples fairly representing 
different kinds or types of soil has made substantial progress; and the final 
soil reports have been published for the counties of Lake, Pike, McLean. 
Winnebago, Kankakee, and Tazewell. 

These reports include: first, the soil maps showing the type or types of 
soil on every part of every farm ; second, the analytical data giving the 
deficiency or abundance of the different elements of fertility in every type 
of soil ; and, third, the record of results secured from actual trials on ex- 
periment fields representing the most important soils, demonstrating under 
normal field conditions the value of permanent systems of soil improvement 
and maintenance in contrast with the older and more common farm prac- 
tice, which too commonly tends toward soil depletion. 

A few typical illustrations of results secured in these field demon- 
strations may aid in a fair understanding of their value and influence: 

On the Raleigh experiment Held, in Saline county, the crop values' 
were $5.52 from land with no soil enrichment, -$7.02 where the farm manure 
was applied in proportion to the crops produced, and $12.30 where ground 
limestone was applied in addition to the farm manure. These results rep- 
resent equal areas of land and the average of four different trials covering 
five years. The increase from the use of limestone was practically equal 
to the total produce from the unaided land. For this soil, limestone is 
the material of first importance, altho it is not the only thing required for 
the highest improvement. 

On a very different kind of soil on the Green Valley experiment field, 
in Tazewell county, the value of produce was $12.88 from land not enriched, 
while with the application of nitrogen the value became $30.35, making 
an increase of $17.47 for the application of nitrogen, an element which 
science has shown to exist in the atmosphere in inexhaustible amounts and 
to be obtainable without purchase by the use of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 
These results represent the average of triplicate trials covering six years 
on the Green Valley experiment field, showing that in this soil nitrogen 
is the limiting element. 



'Prices used: 50 certs a bushel for corn, 40 cents for oats, $1 for wheat, and $10 a 
ton for hay. 



Department of Agronomy 5 

On the Manito experiment field, in Mason county, on another kind of 
soil, the land yielded produce valued at $6.68 where no POTASsruM was 
applied, but with this element provided the average value became $20.02, 
as an average of triplicate trials over four years. 

Neither nitrogen or limestone is needed on the Manito field, and where 
phosphorus was applied at a cost of $3.00, the value of the increase pro- 
duced by it was 65 cents on the Manito field and only 5 cents on the field 
at Green Valley. But, in contrast with these results, on the Bloomington 
experiment field, the common $200 corn-belt prairie land of McLean county 
produced $18.84 with no soil enrichment, $29.88 where $3.00 worth of phos- 
phorus was applied, $29.83 with phosphoras and nitrogen, $30.01 with 
phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium, and $19.45 where the nitrogen and 
potassium were applied without phosphorus. These are the average results 
from field trials covering fifteen years, and plaiidy show that phosphoras 
is of first importance on this type of soil, which is general in central Illinois. 

These markedly different, treatments required on different types of soil 
strongly emphasize both the importance of soil investigations and their 
great practical value in accurately finding what is the limiting element. 
As a ten-year average, corn grown every year on unfertilized land on the 
University farm at ITrbana produced 28.8 bushels per acre, while, with 
practical, scientific soil enrichment, corn grown every year in a good crop 
rotation averaged 79.5 bushels during the same decade. 

The fact that all of the domestic animals on the farms of Illinois are 
equivalent to only one cow for more than 8 acres of our farm land lends 
additional interest to the rational use of other materials than farm manure 
for use in permanent, profitable soil improvement. 

CROP INVESTIGATIONS 

The improvement of crops in quality and yield by selection and breed- 
ing, the testing of varieties, and of methods of planting and tillage and 
care of crops, are likewise under active investigation, and, in these lines as 
well as in soils, the Department of Agronomy has made important dis- 
coveries and established principles of fundamental importance to Illinois 
agriculture: for example, that shallow cultivation of corn is better than 
deep cultivation ; that the great value of cultivation lies not in the con- 
servation of moisture, but in the eradication of weeds, and, consequently, 
that to cultivate corn more than is necessary to destroy weeds is unprofitable ; 
that the planting of soybeans or cowpeas with the corn or at the time of 
the last cultivation does not increase, but decreases the yield of corn ; and 
that extra deep plowing or subsoiling is detrimental rather than beneficial. 



Agriculture at the University of Illinois 



PUBLICATIONS 



Some of the more recent investigations are reported in the following 
publications of the Agronomy Department issued during the last two years : 



Bulletins : 

177 Radium as a Fertilizer 

A Biochemical Study of Nitrogen in Certain Legumes 

Soil Moisture and Tillage for Corn 

Potassium from the Soil 

Prices and Shrinkage of Farm Grains 

Soil Bacteria and Phosphates 

Yields of Different Varieties of Corn in Illinois 

Summary of Illinois Soil Investigations 

A New Limestone Tester 

Yields of Spring Grains in Illinois 

Circulars : 

181 How Not to Treat Illinois Soils 
A Limestone Tester 

I. The Illinois System of Permanent 
Fertility from the Standpoint of 
the Practical Farmer 

II. Phosphates and Honesty 



179 
1S1 
182 
183 
190 
191 
193 
194 
195 



18.', 
186 



Soil Reports: 

9 Lake County Soils 
McLean County Soils 
Pike County Soils 
Winnebago County Soils 
Kankakee County Soils 
Tazewell County Soils 



10 
11 
12 
13 
14 



EXPERIMENT FIELDS 



Because of their confidence in the practical value of the investigations 
conducted, many local communities have donated permanently to the Uni- 
versity most of the tracts of land used by the Agronomy Department for 
experiment fields, such as the following, aggregating about 600 acres : 



Aledo field, Mercer county 
Carlinville field, Macoupin county 
Carthage field, Hancock county 
Clayton field, Adams county 
Elizabethtow n field, Hardin county 
Dixon field, Lee county 
Enfield field. 'White county 
Ewing field, Franklin county 
Hartsburg field, Logan county 
Joliet field. Will county 
Kewanee field, Henry county 
LaMoille field, Bureau county 
Lebanon field, St. Clair county 



Minonk field, Woodford county 
Mount Morris field, Ogle county 
Newton field, Jasper county 
Oblong field, Crawford county 
Oquawka field, Henderson county 
Paua field, Christian county 
Raleigh field, Saline county 
Sidell field, Vermilion county 
Sparta field, Randolph county 
Spring Valley field, Bureau county 
Toledo field, Cumberland county 
Brookport-Unionville field, Massac county 
West Salem field, Edwards county 



NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

The Department of Agronomy is greatly in need of additional appro- 
priations in three lines; namely, $15,000 a year for increased instruction 
and to provide for needed investigation in the subject of Farm Mechanics ; 
$10,000 a year for extending the investigations relating to Farm Crops; 
and a moderate sum to strengthen the faculty. 

With these additions to the present funds, the department should be 
able to render reasonably well the service required by the people of Illinois. 




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DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 

Prepared by Herbert W. Mumford, Head of Department 

'f'C'ROM the most dependable statistics I have been able to secure, I find 
A that in the United States, Illinois ranks second in the production of 
horses ; fourth in the production of mules ; fifth in the production of cattle 
other than milch cows; fourth in the production of cows; seventh in the 
production of sheep; and second in the production of swine. Illinois ranks 
third in the total value of its live stock. On January 1, 1916, the estimated 
value of live stock in the state of Illinois was $332,911,000, being exceeded 
only by the states of Texas and Iowa." 1 

The work of the Animal Husbandry Department is directed along 
three lines : instructional, investigational or experimental, and extension. 

INSTRUCTIONAL WORK 

The instructional work of the Animal Husbandry Department for the 
year 1915-1916 included 28 undergraduate and 15 graduate courses, with a 
combined enrollment of 2,269. Of this number, 28 students were enrolled 
in graduate courses; 1,400 in judging; and the remainder in meat, breeding, 
feeding, and production courses. 

The purposes of the courses offered are to familiarize the student with 
market and breed types of live stock ; the principles underlying the feeding, 
breeding, and management of horses, beef cattle, swine, sheep, and poultry ; 
the judging and selection of animals for breeding and for the feed lot ; the 
methods of marketing; the slaughtering, cutting, handling, and curing of 
meats ; and the chemical and physiological phases of animal nutrition. The 
graduate courses offer opportunities for advanced work in the various 
phases of animal husbandry. In addition to the regular staff of the de- 
partment, leading authorities on the various phases of animal husbandry 
are invited to address the students at times best calculated to give to the 
student the greatest help. 

The instructional work and other academic activities of the depart- 
ment are carried on by 28 individuals. Without attempting to give the 
distribution as between college, station, and extension work of each indi- 
vidual, it may be stated that on an average, 47.5 percent of the time of 
the staff is devoted to college, 44 percent to station, and 8.5 percent to 
extension work. In saying this, it should be understood that some men 
devote practically their entire time to the College ; others to the Experiment 
Station; and still others to extension work. The general policy, however, 
is that, so far as practicable, each member of the staff does some teaching, 
some station work, and to a much less degree, some extension work. 



'From ' ' The Live Stock Situation in Illinois, ' 'an address delivered by Herbert W. 
Mumford to the Illinois State Farmers ' Institute, February 23, 1916. 



8 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

The instructional work is facilitated by well-equipped laboratories, a 
.Stock Judging Pavilion offering ample opportunity for the handling of 
large classes in the judging of live stock, and by a well-organized reading 
room. 

The reading room contains about 2,000 volumes, among which arc 
reference books, encyclopedias of animal husbandry, all publications of the 
Census Bureau and of the United States Department of Agriculture, many 
of the latest books published on the various phases of animal husbandry, 
and complete files of the American and British live-stock journals. In the 
reading room are also to be found 60 weekly and monthly live-stock journals 
and 15 daily live-stock market report papers. A new adjunct to the reading 
room which has greatly facilitated pedigree and breed history work is the 
herdbook room, into which have been moved the 75 sets of the different 
herd, stud, and flock registers. To further supplement the herds and flocks 
of the University, 1,000 or more lantern slides, charts, diagrams, photo- 
graphs, and models are available for classroom purposes. 

The College farm is stocked with herds, flocks, and studs which contain 
between 800 and 900 head of pure-bred and grade live stock, consisting of 
the leading breeds of horses, beef cattle, sheep, and swine, together with 
2.000 domestic fowls. Experimental cattle to the number of 100 to 200 
head are frequently a part of the equipment of the department. An effort 
is made to maintain creditable specimens of the leading breeds of live stock ; 
and the flocks, herds, and studs of the University are rapidly coming to a 
grade of excellence where they are of interest, not only to the breeders of 
this state, but also to other states as well. 

That the merits of the herds and flocks of the University are recognized 
by breeders of the country is indicated by the keen demand for breeding 
stock. In recent years breeding animals have been sold by the University 1 
and shipped into California, Washington. Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Colo- 
rado, New Mexico, Louisiana. Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, South Carolina, New York, 
Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, and Kentucky, besides numerous shipments within 
the state. 

The live-stock equipment of the department is necessarily expensive to 
maintain. The real purpose of this equipment being to furnish live stock 
for instructional purposes, it is not possible to manage them primarily from 
a commercial standpoint. Every effort is made, however, consistent with 
the fundamental purpose of keeping live stock on the College farm, namely 
educational, to keep the cost and maintenance down to the minimum and 
to dispose of discarded and surplus stock to the best advantage possible. 
In addition to the cost of feeding and housing the live stock, there is a large 

"It is significant that breeding stock has been sold from the beef cattle and sheep 
divisions of the department at higher prices than the University has ever paid for 
foundation animals in these classes of live stock. 





POWER ON THE FARM 



Department of Animal Husbandry 9 

element of labor involved, not only in making it possible to present these 
animals to the students in the classroom in proper condition, but also in 
bringing the animals to and taking them from the Stock Judging Pavilion. 

EXPERIMENT STATION WORK 

The attention of the Beef Cattle division has been directed mainly 
along two lines : first, the continuation of the projects started in December, 
1912, to determine the methods and cost of raising beef cattle on the high- 
priced lands of Illinois ; and, second, the methods and cost of growing and 
fattening baby beeves. This division is also cooperating with the Nutrition 
division of the department in investigating the subject of silage and forage 
poisoning of live stock. 

The Sheep division has been working on the different methods of raising 
and fattening lambs for the market. These investigations have involved 
the subject of the place of silage in the maintenance of the breeding flock 
and in fattening rations for sheep and lambs. 

The Swine division is carrying on work to determine the cost of main- 
taining brood sows ; the relative efficiency of light and heavy feeding ; the 
amount of pork produced per bushel of com consumed when pigs are 
allowed to gather the corn from the field as compared with methods of feed- 
ing which are commonly used; and the relative value of different forage 
crops in supplementing the grain ration for fattening hogs. The question 
of the use of the self-feeder is also under investigation. 

The Horse Husbandly division has directed its attention to investigat- 
ing the methods and cost of growing draft mares to two-year-olds, and the 
relative efficiency and cost of maintaining draft horses and mules for farm 
labor. Both of these projects are still in progress. 

The division of Genetics has directed its attention along two lines: 
determining the independence or coupling in unit characters in the inherit- 
ance of mammals, and determining the mode of transmission of cloven and 
mule-foot condition in swine. 

The investigational work of the Nutrition division has been centered 
npon two projects ; the first consisting of a series of digestion experiments 
with pigs; and the second, an experiment to determine the nutritive value 
of the proteins of feeding stuffs. 

The Farm Organization and Management division is conducting cost 
accounting investigations to determine the cost, of producing crops and live 
stock as found under representative types of Illinois agriculture, and to 
study the relation of the various enterprises to the farm business as a whole. 
Particular attention is given to the study of the economic production of 
cattle and hogs, and to horse labor as a factor in the cost of producing farm 
crops. 



10 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

PUBLICATIONS 

The principal publications issued by the Animal Husbandry Depart- 
ment include the bulletins, which summarize the experimental work, and 
the circulars of information, which deal with experimental and general 
live-stock topics. Approximately 2,500,000 copies of these bulletins and 
circulars have been issued. That the reader may form a better idea of the 
nature and scope of the experiment station work of this department, the 
list of bulletins and circulars which it has issued are enumerated below. 

Bulletins: 

73 Comparison of Silage ami Shock Corn for Wintering Calves Intended for 
Beef Production 

78 Market Classes and Grades of Cattle with Suggestions for Interpreting 

Market Quotations 
83 Feeds Supplementary to Corn for Fattening Steers 
90 Fattening Steers of the Various Market Grades 
97 Market Classes ami Grades of Swine 

109 The Location, Construction, and Operation of Hog Houses 

110 Storage Barns, Sheds, Peed Lots, and Other Equipment for Feeding Experi- 

mental Cattle in Car Load Lots 

111 Maintenance Bations for Beef Breeding Cows 
122 Market Classes and Grades of Horses and Mules 
129 Market Classes and Grades of Sheep 

141 Relative Efficiency of Different Rations for Fleshing Horses for Market 

142 Short Fed Steers. A Comparison of Methods of Feeding 
147 Market Classes and Grades of Meat 

149 Tuberculosis of Farm Animals 

150 Feeding Farm Work Horses 
152 Contagious Abortion of Cows 

158 Nutritive "Value of the Various Cuts of Beef 

163 The Maintenance Requirement of Swine 

165 The Element of Uncertainty in the Interpretation of Feeding Experiments 

166 Review of American Investigations on Fattening Lambs 

167 Proportions of Shelled Corn and Alfalfa Hay for Fattening Western Lambs 

168 A Study of the Development of Growing Pigs 

169 A Study of the Ash Content of Growing Pigs 

170 Coefficient of Digestibility of Some Common Rations for Swine 

171 A Study of the Phosphorous Content of Growing Pigs 

172 A Study of the Digestibility of Rations for Steers 

173 A Study of the Forms of Nitrogen in Growing Pigs 
192 Feeding Pure-Bred Draft Fillies 

Circulars : 

48 The Characteristics of Stockers and Feeders 

61 Supplement to Bulletin 73, Comparison of Silage and Shock Corn for Winter- 
ing Calves Intended for Beef Productions 
65 Live Stock Investigations 

79 Present Methods of Beef Production, I (Introduction) 
83 The Swine Industry from the Market Standpoint 

88 Present Methods of Beef Production, II (Fattening Cattle) 



Department of Animal Husbandry 11 

91 Present Methods of Beef Production, III (Hogs Following Cattle in the 

Feed Lot) 

92 Present Methods of Beef Production, IV (Feeds and Their Preparation) 
94 Present Methods of Beef Production, V (Breeding Beef Cattle for Market) 
98 Present Methods of Beef Production, VI (Feed Lots and Shelter) 

104 Detailed Bill of Material for Storage Barns, Sheds, Feed Lots, and Other 
Equipment for Feeding Experimental Cattle in Car Load Lots 

125 The Sheep Industry from the Market Standpoint 

126 Food Requirements for Growing and Fattening Swine 

132 A Portable Panel Fence 

133 Feeding the Pig 

140 The Live Stock Situation in Illinois 

153 Facts in Swine Feeding; Special Reference to Developing Swine for Breed- 
ing Purposes 

161 Growing and Marketing Wool 

163 Belation of the United States to the World 's Beef Supply 

164 Argentina as a Factor in International Beef Trade 
169 A Review of Beef Production in the United States 
175 Cattle Feeding Conditions in the Corn Belt 

178 The Foot and Mouth Disease Situation 

The bulletins on the Market Classes and Grades of Cattle, Horses, 
Swine, Sheep, and Meat are the only series of the kind ever prepared and 
are a valuable contribution to animal husbandry literature. At the time 
of the St. Louis World's Pair, 1904, the management considered the bulletin 
on Market Classes and Grades of Cattle (No. 78) of such great importance 
that the Department of Animal Husbandry was asked to prepare an exhibit 
which would represent the grades illustrated and described in this bulletin. 
This exhibit was prepared and pronounced the most valuable from an 
educational point of view of any live-stock exhibit in the entire show. A 
similar exhibit was made at the International Live Stock Exhibition the 
same year and has been similarly commended since that time. This material 
has often been used at our State Fair and at various exhibitions in this 
and other states, including the Panama Pacific International Exposition 
at San Francisco in 1915. The information it conveys becomes more signifi- 
cant each year. 

Publications are in preparation by members of the department on such 
subjects as the relative cost of maintaining horses and mules for farm labor ; 
the influence of one feeding stuff upon the digestibility of another ; the in- 
dividuality of pigs as to the completeness with which they digest their food. 

BUILDINGS 

With the exception of the brick Beef Cattle Building, erected 1904- 
1905, the college and station live stock are housed in frame buildings of a 
more or less temporary nature. 

The Genetics Building (erected 1915-1916) is a one-story brick struc- 
ture, 42 by 140 feet, containing the laboratories, offices, and animal rooms 



12 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

of the Genetics division of the Animal Husbandry Department. The build- 
ing is used for teaching purposes and for the investigation of the transmis- 
sion of characters in animals and plants with particular reference to 
domestic animals. 

The Stock Judging Pavilion (erected 1913) is a fireproof building, 54 
feet high on the front and 148 feet deep, with circular ends 92 feet in 
diameter and 20 feet high. The exterior is brick and terra cotta, renaissance 
in design, the frieze being enriched with medallions of animal heads, repre- 
senting modern breed types of the various classes of live stock. The total 
ground area is 30,000 square feet ; the show arena is 220 feet, long and 65 
feet wide with a seating capacity of 2,000. Four classes of 40 students 
each can be held in the arena at the same time. The building also contains 
classrooms and offices. There are approximately 1,400 enrollments in 
regular classes using this building during the school year. 

The Cattle Feeding Plant, now under construction, will be 374 feet 
long when completed. The main part of the plant is to be 52 feet wide 
and over 50 feet high, having a storage capacity of 400 tons of hay, 13,000 
bushels of small grain, and 1,000 bushels of ear corn. In addition to the 
main plant there will be a battery of 4 silos, each 16 by 70 feet, with a total 
capacity of over 1,000 tons. Two of these have already been built. The 
plant will be equipped with machinery for the efficient handling and prepa- 
ration of feeds. The feeding lots, which are to extend out 30 feet from the 
building line, will be paved. The maximum capacity of the plant will be 
200 head of mature cattle. 

The equipment for investigational work in Animal Husbandry consists 
of laboratories for analysis of feeding materials and excreta, and for 
research work in the more advanced chemical and physiological phases of 
animal nutrition ; breeding laboratories for experimentation on mice, rats, 
rabbits, guinea pigs, and other suitable mammals; cold storage rooms and 
other equipment for conducting tests in cutting and handling meats ; frame 
buildings for the housing of the various kinds of live stock, with the appli- 
ances necessary for individual and collective feeding tests, paved and 
unpaved feeding lots; and open sheds for experimentation with horses, 
cattle, sheep, and swine. 

EXTENSION WORK 

A summary of the work of the Animal Husbandry Department should 
not. fail to include that part which is offered directly to the people. 

During the past year the extension activities of the department reached 
into 44 counties of the state. Lectures were delivered at farmers' institutes, 
extension schools, farm management associations, county advisers' meetings, 
live-stock and breeders' association meetings, the Boys' State Fair School, 
teachers' and parents' meetings in schools, county fair schools, and corn 



Department of Animal Husbandry 13 

shows. Fifteen of the members of the department delivered extension 
lectures, thru which l. r ),222 people were reached. 

NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

Beef Cattle Division. The completion of the beef cattle feeding and 
storage plant is urgently needed. It is designed to make the latter a central 
storage plant for all classes of live stock, and until this is secured we shall 
not be able to purchase feeds as economically as can be done with suitable 
storage facilities. 

Heat Division. A laboratory for slaughtering, ripening, curing, and 
cutting meat is needed. This laboratory shoidd be of sufficient size to take 
care of students registered in the meat courses, and, manifestly, some of 
their activities in handling meat would include more than is indicated above. 
The enrollment in the meat courses at the present time is about 40, but a 
special effort has been made to keep this enrollment down to a small number 
as the division is not in a position to handle larger numbers. This laboratory 
should be equipped for conducting experiment station work as a supple- 
ment to our present live-stock production investigations. 

Hoj-se Division. One of the chief limitations to the development of 
our courses in horse husbandry is a lack of available high-class horses. If 
the stabling in connection with the Stock Judging Pavilion, as originally 
planned, could be provided, it would make it possible for us to secure 
material additions to our equipment by loans from breeders and exhibitors 
who will not run the risk of sending their stock here now in the absence of 
sanitary stabling. 

Swine Division. With the purchase of the Lindsey farm and the loca- 
tion of the new beef cattle feeding and storage plant in close proximity to 
the old swine husbandly location, it is contemplated to move the swine to a 
portion of the Lindsey farm. This will make it necessary to rebuild the 
swine plant. Fortunately, no expensive buildings have been erected at the 
old plant, but provision should be made, within the next two years, for the 
erection of suitable buildings to quarter this division of our department. 

Cottages for Herdsmen and Shepherd. With the growth of the Uni- 
versity and the necessity for moving our live stock farther away from the 
campus, it becomes increasingly necessary to provide cottages in which the 
herdsmen and shepherd can live in close proximity to their work. The 
policy of providing cottages for such men has long been under consideration, 
and efforts have been made properly to care for the work by other methods, 
but the departmental staff have come to the conclusion that this is the 
most satisfactory and the only safe method of earing for our live-stock 
equipment. At present there should be provision made for erecting a cot- 
tage for the beef cattle herdsman, another for the swine herdsman, and a 
third for the shepherd who looks after the University flock. 



14 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

Animal Pathology. Students specializing in Animal Husbandry are 
handicapped at pi'esent thru a lack of opportunity to take work in animal 
pathology or veterinary science. It is true, too, that some of the investiga- 
tions, particularly the one in forage poisoning, are being hampered by the 
lack of a competent animal pathologist who has been trained for such work. 

Animal Nutrition Division. For both the research and instructional 
work, the Nutrition division needs a larger laboratory for the experiments 
with animals, a laboratory which woidd include 12 feeding stalls for pigs 
and sheep similar to the four new stalls in the Beef Cattle Building for 
cattle and horses. In this same connection about three times as much space 
as we now have in the Beef Cattle Building is needed for the sampling of 
feeds, for the storing of feeds, and for the weighing of feeds and excretory 
products. The Nutrition division needs a bomb calorimeter for the purpose 
of computing the heat of combustion of the feeding stuffs that are being 
used in the nutrition experiments and also for the purpose of analyzing 
the feeding stuffs which other members of this department are using in 
connection with their work. 

Poultry Division. The Poultry division needs strengthening. The 
work is now advanced to a point where the major part of the time of one 
man is required to care for the extension calls. There should be one or 
possibly two new men added to this division as soon as practicable. The 
University of Illinois is doing less in poultry husbandry than possibly any 
college or experiment station of good standing in the United States, and 
even than less important stations. Thus far. only temporary, inexpensive 
buildings have been erected for housing the poultry. The building equip- 
ment is entirely inadequate properly to care for present activities, to say 
nothing of any development of the work. It will be necessary in the very near 
future to erect more and better structures for this purpose. 

Land. The land devoted to farming and experimental purposes under 
the supervision of the department now comprizes 355 acres, 80 of which are 
rented. If the department were provided with sufficient, land to grow all of 
the feed necessary fully to maintain its live-stock equipment, from 600 to 
700 acres would be required. It is necessary that sufficient corn be grown 
to fill the silos and provide sufficient pasturage for the live-stock equip- 
ment. It is felt that the present acreage of 355 acres, 80 of which, it should 
be borne in mind, arc rented, is the minimum amount of land with which 
this can successfully be done. To be assured that land will be available as 
needed, the University should acquire either the 80 acres now rented by the 
department or its equivalent elsewhere. This, as has been said, would be a 
minimum ; it would be advisable to have available for the use of the depart- 
ment at least 400 acres. 



DEPARTMENT OF DAIRY HUSBANDRY 

Prepared by H. A. Harding, Head of the Department 

THE steadily increasing cost of human food is producing a shift toward 
dairying in the agriculture of the state. This in turn is bringing in- 
creasing demands upon the Department of Dairy Husbandry. 

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 

The teaching problem of the Dairy Department is to train students 
along the lines of the production, manufacture, and marketing of milk and 
its products. In doing this it offers 21 different courses of instruction, 
which, during the present year have had a total enrollment of slightly over 
700 four-year students. 

Notwithstanding this evident interest in the subject, as shown by the 
large number of students enrolled in the dairy classes, the teaching of the 
subject is in several respects not as well developed here as it is at the 
Agricultural Colleges of Wisconsin and Iowa, our neighboring institutions 
in states where dairying has essentially the same importance as in Illinois. 
Our present limitations as to men, equipment, and buildings will be dis- 
cussed under the heading of department needs. 

EXPERIMENT STATION WORK 

The inevitable high cost of all food is constantly raising questions as 
to various methods by which the cost of production of dairy products may 
be reduced. The following studies are being made of various aspects of 
this cost question. 

The question of calves and calf raising has been stimulated by the in- 
creasing price of dairy cows and the increasing need of cows that shall be 
economical producers of milk. From careful studies of the growth and 
development of 125 calves, fed upon various combinations of the ordinary 
farm feeds and manufactured feeds, it has been concluded that while hay 
and various cereals and their products may early become an important 
part of the food of the calf, satisfactory development does not appear 
possible without the liberal use of whole or skimmed milk during the first 
two or three months of its life. 

Closely connected with calf raising is the question of the influence 
which the feeding and development of the calf and heifer up to the time of 
freshening may exert upon the milk production of the resulting cow. Mani- 
festly this is difficult to measure because of the large influence of breeding 
upon milk flow and the difficulty of getting a sufficient number of experi- 
mental calves of the same or like breeding, but investigations are under 
way looking to a solution of the p?oblem. So far as the experiment has 
gone the variations in feeding before freshening have resulted in distinct 
differences in the size of the cows and their ability to produce milk. 



If, Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

Labor is an increasingly important factor in milk production and has 
led to much consideration of the milking machine. Studies of the effect of 
the machine upon the lactation period of cows and heifers, upon the amount 
of milk produced, and upon the relative cost of machine milking and hand 
milking have been in progress for some time. The conclusions which appear 
evident at the present time are that when properly handled the milking 
machine has no objectionable results upon the cow and in large herds it 
is economical from the standpoint of labor. As they are ordinarily handled, 
however, milking machines increase the germ life of milk and have an un- 
desirable effect upon the keeping quality of the milk. 

An investigation is being made of the causes that influence the germ 
content of milk. The wholesale price of milk produced in Illinois each year 
for the city trade amounts to about $30,000,000. Because of the relation 
of the milk business to the public health, many municipalities have for- 
mulated stringent regulations concerning the production and handling of 
milk. While these regulations have been made in good faith, they frequently 
require the producer or the handler to go to considerable expense in matters 
about which there is no exact information as to their importance. 

The studies undertaken have already emphasized the fact that too 
much stress has been laid upon the matters of barn construction and gen- 
eral appearances, which have really very little effect upon the quality of 
the milk. On the other hand, they have served to emphasize the overshadow- 
ing importance of the condition of the pails, strainers, and cans with which 
the milk comes in actual contact. Even when these are clean, in the ordinary 
meaning of that word, they are frequently so highly populated with germ 
life that the milk is promptly started on the road to souring. Studies are 
now under way to determine the most practical methods of handling the 
utensils in order to have them in satisfactory condition for handling milk. 

As the result of these studies it is hoped that the cities of the state 
will remove those restrictions upon the milk business which increase the 
cost of production without serving any useful purpose. At the same time 
the dairymen should be enabled to produce ;i better milk at a smaller cost. 

The above studies aim at reductions in the cost of the milk production 
by making possible improvements at individual points. At the same time 
a more accurate knowledge of the total cost of milk production, as well 
as knowledge of the comparative importance of the various factors that 
together make up this total cost, is of considerable importance. In order 
to secure accurate information, since exact data were not available, two 
lines of study have been carried out: 

(1) A survey has been made of the conditions on 725 dairy farms 
in northern Illinois. Careful study of the data shows that the question of 
costs is very complex and that the actual cost of production varies, not 
only with the individual cow, but also with the individual farm in each 
community and with the type of dairying in which the community is 




Sept. /9/6 
to 

March I9J7 

INSTITUTES • 
SHORT COURSES o 
COIA/ TBSTASS'H a 
OFFICIAL TEST + 
CREAMERY 

MEETINGS A 
MISC. MEETINGS D 
COST A CCOUNTINQ C 
DAIRY TRAINS 



EXTENSION ACTIVITIES OF THE DAIRY DEPARTMENT 



Departmcnl of Dairy Hnsoandrii 17 

engaged. (2) A complete system of farm accounts has been carried out 
with a considerable number of dairymen in different parts of the state. 
This kind of data has accumulated thru four seasons and forms a valuable 
check upon the conclusions which seem tc follow from the survey. 

The above are given as examples only of the kind of service rendered 
by the department. 

EXTENSION WORK 

At present, in the Department of Dairy Husbandry, extension work 
occupies the full time of two men and a considerable portion of the time 
of six others. With this allotment of men satisfactory attention cannot be 
given to this work, for which there is a large and growing demand. 

For a number of years the department has cooperated with the officials 
of the various dairy breed associations in conducting official tests of milk 
production in pure-bred dairy herds within the state. These tests are of 
two general types — short-time tests and tests extending over an entire 
year. During the year ending December 31, 1916, the department conducted 
short-time tests on 426 cows in 61 different herds, and yearly tests on 224 
cows in 37 different herds. These tests included representatives of six 
different dairy breeds. 

Just before the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease there was manifest 
a growing interest in cow-testing associations in this state. With the dis- 
appearance of the disease the interest has again appeared. Since June 1, 
1916, seven new associations have been formed and are now in working 
order, and a number more will undoubtedly be formed as rapidly as satis- 
factory men can be found to act as testers. Where these associations arc 
provided with the right man as a tester, they are of great good in increasing 
the quality of the herds of a community. 

The wave of interest in dairying which is now sweeping over this 
state has led to considerable attention to calf raising and calf clubs. Where 
these clubs secure desirable calves at reasonable prices and have good in- 
structions regarding the development of calves into dairy cows, they will 
undoubtedly be of benefit to individuals and to the dairy industry. Recog- 
nizing the newness and complexity of the calf club situation, the extension 
forces of the College of Agriculture have entered into cooperative relations 
with the State Dairymen's Association in the carrying on of this work. 

It is a matter of common knowledge and regret that only about 15 
percent of the creamery butter made in the United States is of first quality. 
The reason for this lies in the poor condition of the cream at the time it is 
received by the creamery. The problem of the improvement of cream has 
for some time interested the Illinois Butter-manufacturers' Improvement 
Association. Evidently the method of improvement lies in paying a higher 
price for the sweeter cream based on some method of grading. In order to 
assist in working out this cream-grading plan, an extension man has been 
delegated to work with the creamery men on the problem. 



Irt Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

In view of the growing interest in dairying in southern Illinois and 
the desirability of coming into touch with a wide extent of territory, the 
department, in cooperation with the railroads and in one instance with the 
State Dairymen's Association, assisted on dairy trains during this winter 
thru the region from Danville to Cairo and from Lawrenceville to Salem, 
in this way presenting dairy facts to approximately 25,000 people. 

In addition to extension work along these definite lines, the depart- 
ment is represented at farmers' meetings of all kinds and in consultation 
with various groups in connection with agricultural problems. 

The general distribution of the extension activities are shown by the 
map opposite the preceding page. 

NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

The needs of the Dairy Department may be briefly enumerated under 
the headings of Space, Men, and Equipment. 

Space. The specimens of the various dairy breeds in use for teaching 
purposes are now housed in the original Agricultural College barn. This 
building has practically outlived its usefulness and must soon be rebuilt. 
A new building combining the purposes of a barn, with silos and other 
necessary equipment, and a laboratory adapted for both teaching and in- 
vestigation, would probably cost about $20,000. 

Nowhere is space more needed than in the creamery. Four years ago 
the space allotted to it was believed to be fully occupied. Since then the 
machinery used in the instruction of ice-cream making and city-milk 
handling has been installed. The result is that while there is something 
illustrative of practically every side of dairy manufactures, there is not 
space enough to treat any side fairly. 

The retail city milk business in this state amounts to over $50,000,000 
per year, while the machinery illustrative of it is crowded into a spare L'O 
feet square. The ice cream business, while less in amount, is important 
and growing rapidly, but its space allotment is necessarily quite as meager. 

Laboratory space for proper teaching in connection with city milk 
problems is simply not to be had. A laboratory for dairy physics is needed 
quite as much as one for dairy chemistry, for the entire group of processes 
included in dairy manufactures is applied physics; but again space is 
lacking. 

Men. As the department is now equipped, it is about four men short. 
If sufficient laboratory space could be provided to accommodate the students 
who desire to take work in courses now offered, the shortage of men would 
be considerably increased. 

Equipment. The equipment that has been provided is of good quality 
and on the whole as abundant as the space relations make desirable. How- 
ever, as soon as adequate space is made available, equipment should be 
provided, and in the development of the suggested new laboratories new 
equipment will of course be needed. 







OLD HORTICULTURAL BUILDING, NOW USED FOR 
MILITARY PURPOSES 




PROPOSED NEW HORTICULTURAL GROUP 



DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE 

Prepared by J. C. Blair, Head of the Department 

THE work of the Department of Horticulture is carried on in five divi- 
sions: Pomology, or fruit growing; Olericulture, or vegetable gar- 
dening; Floriculture; Landscape Gardening; and Plant Breeding. 

Twenty-three members of the staff are engaged in instructional work, 
which is given in all these divisions except plant breeding. Most of them 
also devote a part of their time to research work in the Experiment Station. 

INSTRUCTION 

During the present year (1916-17) there are a total of 1,615 registra- 
tions in the 55 different courses offered by the department. The courses 
and enrollments are distributed as follows : general horticulture, 2 courses, 
562 students; pomology, 11 courses, 134 students; olericulture, 3 courses, 
21 students; floriculture. 12 courses, 197 students; and landscape garden- 
ing. 27 courses, 701 students. 

Instruction in general horticulture is given for the most part by mem- 
bers of the division of Pomology. An elementary course in general horti- 
culture is required of all freshmen in the general course in agriculture, 
consequently there is a large registration in this work each year. 

The registration in the division of Landscape Gardening. 701 for the 
past year, places this school first in the country in point of attendance. 
The first professorship in civic design in the United States was established 
in 1914 in connection with the work in this division. 

In addition to the regular horticultural courses this department offei'8 
two professional courses, one in floriculture and one in landscape garden- 
ing, both leading to the degree of bachelor of science. Twenty-two students 
are registered in the professional course in floriculture, and 65 in the 
professional course in landscape gardening. 

Graduate Instruction. Four of the fifty-five courses of instruction 
offered by the department are graduate courses, and cover special problems 
in three of the divisions. Seven graduate students are registered in po- 
mology, 3 in olericulture, and 6 in floriculture. It is planned to extend the 
graduate instruction to other divisions of the department, and to increase 
the number of courses and of instructors in subjects already given. 

EQUIPMENT 

For the most part, and except in landscape gardening, the same equip- 
ment is used for instructional and for investigational work. The area 
devoted to these operations consists of 320 acres in the vicinity of Urbana ; 
in addition, various fruit and vegetable plantations are maintained by the 
department in southern Illinois for spraying and soil experiments in po- 
mology, and for plant selection and fertilizer experiments in olericulture. 



20 Aftricultvre at the University of Illinois 

Two buildings arc devoted exclusively to horticultural activities. The 
Floriculture greenhouses (ereeted 1912-13) consist of ten glass houses with 
an aggregate area of 28,000 square feet. The service building used in con- 
nection with the greenhouses is a two-story structure containing laboratories, 
offices, classrooms, and potting and storage rooms. Six of the glass houses 
are used for instruction, and the other four for investigational work. The 
houses contain plants representing all forms used in commercial and deco- 
rative work. The Vegetable and Plant Breeding greenhouses (erected 
1912-13) consist of three glass houses, — one used for vegetable growing 
(105x28 feet) and two for plant breeding (each 80x30 feet): a wire 
house 80x30 feet; and a two-story service building. 

The landscape gardening classrooms and offices are in the Agricul- 
tural Building. Four drafting rooms, containing in all one hundred desks, 
modern filing devices for office practice, and a very complete library are 
at the disposal of the students. The library contains an unusual collec- 
tion of early works on landscape gardening, a collection which was begun 
with the opening of the University in 1868; it has been kept up to date 
in both American and foreign publications relating to landscape garden- 
ing and allied subjects. A series of two thousand lantern slides is used 
to illustrate lectures and laboratory work. There is also a collection of 
representative drawings and blue-prints by practicing landscape architects. 

EXPERIMENTAL WORK 
POMOLOGY 

In Pomology, or fruit growing, the investigational work consists largely 
of soil-treatment and spraying experiments for apple orchards of central 
and southern Illinois. The soil-treatment experiments necessarily cover a 
considerable period of years. A new experiment with nitrate of soda is 
planned for the coming season. 

During 1916-17 the spraying experiments for blotch demonstrated 
the superiority of Bordeaux to lime sulfur, but indicated that Bordeaux 
applied in sufficient amounts to control blotch resulted in badly russcted 
fruit. It was found that the most important sprayings for blotch were 
those applied three, five, and seven weeks after the fall of the bloom. 

Results from the test of the dust sprays, in which powdered arsenate 
of lead and finely divided sulfur were used, indicate in general a rather 
favorable control of codling moth and curculio, with an unsatisfactory 
control of apple scab and blotch. 

Investigations with regard to spraying peaches and to the control of 
pear blight are now in progress. 

OLERICULTURE 

In Olericulture, or vegetable gardening, experiments are being carried 
on with a view to studying inheritance in lettuce and to securing a better 






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Department of Horticulture 21 

forcing variety of head lettuce. A number of commercial varieties of 
tomatoes are being tested to determine their relative resistance to fusarium 
wilt. Experiments in sweet potato selection are being conducted for the 
purpose of isolating types of sweet potatoes found in the ordinary seed 
and of developing by selection, if possible, improved strains of sweet 
potatoes. 

A fertilizer experiment with tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and muskmelons 
has been inaugurated for the purpose of determining the fertilizer needs 
of these crops in a three-year rotation. 

FLORICULTURE 

In Floriculture, fertilizer experiments show that acid phosphate in- 
creases the production of carnations, and has the same effect with roses 
of every variety tested, except Hoosier Beauty. 

One of the chief investigations during the present year is the study 
of the effect of fertilizers on the formation of carbohydrates in plants; 
it has been necessary to devote considerable time to a preliminary study 
of methods of carbohydrate analysis in order to secure a basis for reliable 
and significant results. 

Three projects of general horticultural interest have been started in 
this division: (1) the chemical changes taking place in the ripening of 
fruits; (2) the carbon-dioxid content of the greenhouse atmosphere; and 
(3) the chemical changes resulting in apples from attacks by Penicillium. 

The work in pathology is directed along three lines: (1) giving in- 
formation as to disease and treatment in cases of trouble in commercial 
greenhouses; (2) the diagnosis of diseases for other divisions and depart- 
ments upon a request for such information; and (3) the experimental in- 
vestigation of those diseases which at present are resulting in the most 
serious loss to the grower, more especially carnation "yellows," the fusarium 
wilt of carnations, snapdragon rust, and aster "yellows." With all of 
these the aim is to give an ample and easily recognized description of the 
disease, the method of transmission, the effect on the structure and tissues 
of the plant, and either to develop a remedy or devise methods of pre- 
venting the occurrence of the disease. 

A survey of the fungous flora of greenhouse soils is also in progress. 

New diseases of floricultural plants which have recently come to atten- 
tion are a bacterial decay of cyclamens, a crown blight of Ligustrum vulgar e, 
and a destructive disease of canna rootstock. New or noteworthy diseases 
other than floricultural that have been met are as follows: a Phoma canker 
of apple, new to the state, if not to the United States ; the bacterial shot 
hole of peach and plum, caused by Bacterium pruni, not previously reported 
from this state ; a Cytospora blight of plum, peach, and apple showing In- 
teresting inter-host relations; a disease seemingly caused by Calospha'ria 
princeps which results in the death of cherry and plum trees; the blight of 



22 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

sweet corn caused by Pseudomonas stewarti, previously unreported for the 
state ; a new bacterial chlorosis of field corn ; and a leaf blight of the cowpea. 

PLANT BREEDING 

Plant-breeding projects originally outlined in 1907 are being conducted. 

The studies in apple-bud selection have shown, in a positive way, that 
so far as growth is concerned, there is no difference in value, for purposes 
of propagation, between large buds and small buds, or between buds dif- 
ferently situated either on the tree or the shoot. 

Hybridizing between standard varieties of apples and other species 
of the genus Malus, crossing between orchard varieties, crossing between 
strains of the same variety and even between different individuals of the 
same strain are all being tried in order to determine the effect of pollina- 
tion. Studies are in progress with regard to the transmission of characters 
such as size, type of foliage, flower color, flower form, color of seed, and 
shape of the pollen, sweet peas being used for the purpose because they 
are well adapted to studies of this kind. 

Peach breeding is being carried on with 3,400 trees now in the planta- 
tion and with about 30 hybrid seedlings now growing in the greenhouse ; 
these latter plants are utilized to the fullest extent this spring, crossing 
as many as possible and selfing the balance. 

EXTENSION WORK 

The members of the Horticultural Department devote a relatively 
small proportion of their time to extension activities, not because there 
is no demand for such work, but because other and more pressing duties 
occupy their time. It will be necessary to increase the staff before this 
phase of the horticultural work can receive proper attention. 

Many people are reached thru a large correspondence. Lectures have 
been received favorably and for the most part eagerly, but have been 
restricted to a small number of localities. 

EXHIBITS 

Three exhibitions are held annually by the department. A Chrysan- 
themum Show is held in November every year; a Fruit and Vegetable 
Exhibit is held in connection with the meetings of the Illinois Horticul- 
tural Society, in December ; and in April an Exhibition of Floral Arrange- 
ments is given by the class in floral arrangements. 

In 1916 a Vegetable Exhibit, including charts and pictures, was held 
in connection with the Vegetable Growers' Convention at Chicago. And 
during 1916-17, the following exhibits were given by the division of Land- 
scape Gardening: the work of Charles Downing Lay, of New York City; 
Von Penhallow Henderson pastels; prize drawings from the American 
Academy in Rome; and an exhibit from the Massachusetts Agricultural 
College at Amherst. 



Department of Horticulture 23 

PUBLICATIONS 

The following bulletins and circulars have been published by the de- 
partment since 1901 : 

Bulletins: 

61 The Farmer 's Vegetable Garden 

C7 Apple Scab 

68 Important Details of Spraying 

70 Canker of Apple Trees 

77 Bitter Eot of Apples 

81 Forcing Tomatoes 

98 The Curculio and the Apple 

105 The Farmer's Vegetable Garden 

106 Relative Merits of Liquid and Dust Spray 
114 Spraying for the Codling Moth 

117 Bitter Rot of Apples (Horticultural Investigations) 

118 Bitter Rot of Apples (Botanical Investigations) 
124 Marketing the Muskmelon 

144 Growiug Tomatoes for Early Market 

155 Fertilizer Experiments with Muskmelons 

174 An Efficient and Practicable Method for Controlling Melon Lice 

175 Experiments in Onion Culture 

176 The Use of Commercial Fertilizers in Growing Carnations 

184 Tests with Nitrate of Soda in the Production of Early Vegetables 

185 Field Experiments in Spraying Apple Orchards 

188 Methods of Fertilizing Sweet Potatoes 

189 Parasitic Rhizoetonias in America 

196 The Use of Commercial Fertilizers in Growing Roses 

Circulars : 

37 Apple Fruit Rots 

39 Directions and Formulas for Spraying 

40 The Farmer's Fruit Garden 

41 Small Fruits for the Northern Half of the State and How to Grow Them 

42 Fruit List for Northern Illinois 

43 Field Work with Bitter Rot During 1901 

44 Fruit Storage Experiments 

45 Vegetables for a Farmer's Garden in Northern Illinois 

46 The Farmer's Flower Garden 

47 The Window Garden 

58 Prevention of Bitter Rot 

67 Fruit and Orchard Investigations 

107 Fruit and Orchard Investigations 
112 Control of Bitter Rot of Apples 

120 Spraying Apple Orchards for Insects and Fungi 

139 How to Grow Muskmelons 

154 The Home Vegetable Garden 

160 Some Common Spray Mixtures 

170 The Illinois Way of Beautifying the Farm 

172 The Blight of Apples, Pears, and Quinces 

173 Onion Culture 



24 Agriculturi at the Fniversity of Illinois 

176 Practical Helps on Landscape Gardening 

182 The Fertilizer Problem from the Vegetable Grower 's Standpoint 

184 The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening 

187 A Serious Disease of Cultivated Perennials Caused by Sclerotium Rolfsii 

Publications on the following subject* are now in preparation : field 
experiments in spraying apple orchards ; seed production in apples ; apple- 
bud selection ; vegetable gardening ; and the mechanical effects of sprays 
on the epidermis of the apple leaf. 

NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

Buildings. With the relinquishing of our claim on the old Horticul- 
tural Building and adjacent grounds, now used for military purposes, there 
are in process of development new out-door field laboratories for courses 
of instruction in commercial orcharding, small-fruit growing, and vegetable 
gardening. These laboratories are located on a 320-acre tract at the south- 
east extremity of the campus. Adequate provision must be made without 
delay for the drainage, fencing, road-making, and planting of this area. 
This out-door equipment must be supplemented at once witli interior labo- 
ratory and storage space, and for this purpose there has been designed the 
group of three buildings shown opposite page 19. The main building of 
this group is a structure Hi0x. r >7 feet, joined to which is a storage house 
70 x 50 feet, witli stables and machinery space adjacent, 153x36 feet. 

Greenhouses. The increasing demands for instructional work, espe- 
cially of graduate grade, in olericulture and pomology make it imperative 
that provision be made at the earliest possible moment for an additional 
vegetable house 105 x 28 feet, .-mil two new houses for the growing of fruits 
under glass, each structure to be 105x28 feet. 

Similarly the increased registrations in floriculture make it necessary 
to provide at least two new houses in the very near future. 

Each of these five houses will cost approximately $3,500, making a 
total of $17,500. The floricultural work of the University will never be 
adequately developed until there is provided the large palm house referred 
to in former reports. 

Research. The most pressing need of the department in the field of 
research at the present time is the securing of a thoroly trained penological 
chemist, and a plant pathologist and physiologist, each to devote his entire 
time to experimental problems relating to fruit growing and vegetable 
gardening. Similar appointments have already been made and satisfactory 
equipment provided in the division of Floriculture. 

Landscape Gardening. The demand for instructional work in land- 
scape gardening and the necessity of greatly expanding our extension 
activities in this field make it absolutely necessary that additional quarters 
be provided for this work. Three new men must also be added to this work 
the coming year. 




THE WOMAN'S BUILDING 

In the north wing of which are located the classrooms and laboratories of 
the Household Science Department 



THE HOUSEHOLD SCIENCE DEPARTMENT 

Prepared by Isabel Bevier, Head of Department 

THE Household Science Department of the University of Illinois is 
instructing 525 young women in the principles and processes of home- 
making and housekeeping. For convenience, the work is arranged under 
the sanitary, esthetic, and economic aspects of food, clothing, and shelter. 
But whatever the method of approach, two fundamental conceptions obtain : 
first, that housekeeping and home-making is big business whether one con- 
siders the capital invested or the ultimate good of the individuals con- 
cerned; second, that it requires for its successful prosecution, training in 
the processes involved in housekeeping and a knowledge of the materials 
to be used. 

Each passing year emphasizes more strongly the necessity for skilful 
buying, for careful expenditure of energy, time, and money, both within 
and without the home, but the necessity for cherishing the less tangible 
elements of individual and family life is quite as imperative if not so evident. 
So it is a matter of congratulation that the department has strengthened 
its work for the family by the addition of a worker trained in economics 
who, therefore, can consider the family not only in its social but also in its 
economic aspects. 

Two hundred and thirty-six young women are working with food, 
some in selection and preparation, others practicing housekeeping in the 
apartment, and yet others studying lunch-room management in the prepara- 
tion of food for the cafeteria (in which the average daily attendance for 
the month of February was 317). This shows that the department itself 
is a great laboratory for the study of the many phases of the food supply, 
such as suitable diet for old and young, sick and well, the cost, selection, and 
preparation of food, as well as a place in which the student learns both 
theory and practice. 

The world is slowly but surely coming to recognize the value of beauty 
in common life, which means bringing art into the daily task. The art side 
of the work of this department is concerned, not only with teaching the 
value of textile fibers in order to make the woman a successful buyer in 
these lines, but also with showing her the value of form, line, color, and 
design as applied to either the clothing of the family or the furnishing of 
the home, to the end that the home and its furnishings shall be not only 
useful but beautiful. At present, 280 girls are studying along this line. 

No small amount of energy goes into the training of teachers. At 
present, 78 young women of the senior class are doing their practice teach- 
ing, under supervision, in the schools of Champaign. 

While the larger number of women find their places ultimately in the 
home, many of them reach it thru the occupation of teacher, the dietitian, 
the social worker, the lunch-room manager, or the interior decorator. The 



26 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

offerings of this department, therefore, as outlined in the 18 undergraduate, 
4 graduate, and 6 Summer Session courses, are planned to give the student 
the fundamental knowledge and the method of attack of the problems 
incidental to these lines of work as well as to those of the home-maker. 

STATISTICS SHOWING PRESENT OCCUPATION OF GRADUATES 

The following statistics show the different kinds of work in which 
our 305 graduates are engaged at the present time : 

Married 75 

At home 56 

Total in homes 131 

Teaching (universities, colleges, normal and 

high schools, Y. W. C. A.'s, etc 135 

Cafeteria and tea-room directors 14 

Dietitians 8 

Miscellaneous 17 

305 

GROWTH IN ENROLLMENT 

The following figures are indicative of the growth of the past five years, 
and therefore helpful in plans for future growth : 



TEAR 


STUDENTS 


FACULTY 


1912-13 


358 


9 


1913-14 


406 




1914-15 


421 




1915-16 


469 




1916-17 


525 


16 



In other words, the gain in students in this department during the 
past five years has been 45 percent, and for the past biennium, 25 percent, 
while the undergraduate courses have increased from 16 to 18 and the 
graduate courses from 2 to 4. The growth is further evidenced by the fact 
that three-fourths of the graduates belong to the last five years, and that 
the class of 1917, numbering 93, is more than three and one-half times as 
great as the class graduated in 1912. Then the regular instructional staff 
numbered 9, at present it numbers 16. 

This increase in enrollment and in graduates indicates that the people 
of the state have a growing interest in home and family life and in the 
training of women to meet the different phases of the problem. 

EXTENSION WORK 

The extension work of the Household Science Department is particu- 
larly important because it deals with questions vital to individual and com- 
munity life, in fact with their very essentials — food, clothing, shelter, and 
health. The agencies employed are: 




HOME ECONOMICS DEMONSTRATION CAR 

Shows types of light, heat, water, and power installations for the country 
home; also types of furnishings and equipment 




POWER MACHINERY IN DEMONSTRATION CAR 



The Household Science Department 27 

1. Correspondence 

2. Service for organizations, such as the Farmers' Institute, Parents' 

and Teachers 'Associations, etc. 

3. Movable Schools 

4. Demonstration Car 

5. School for Housekeepers 

This extension service is announced by a special circular and can be 
had by any community upon request. The work is conducted by a regular 
staff of six, supplemented, because of the large number of calls, by six 
part-time workers. Almost every phase of home life has been presented by 
these workers in 31 movable schools and 88 lectures given from July 1, 
1916, to January 1, 1917. It seems probable that the total attendance at 
the schools and lectures this year will be considerably in excess of the 
50,000 attending last year. The following figures give the numbers served 
from July 1, 1916, to January 1, 1917. 

By separate lectures and demonstrations 12,648 

By Movable Schools 7,926 

By Demonstration Car (November and December only) . . 4,152 

Total for six months 24,726 

Letters and cards sent out-in regular correspondence... 1,558 

Bulletins sent out 18,817 

Numbers served for the month of January, 1917 : 

By separate lectures and demonstrations 2,091 

By Movable Schools 3,469 

By Demonstration Car 1,955 

Total away from the University 7,515 

School for Housekeepers at the University 657 

Total for month of January 8,172 

PUBLICATIONS 

The following bulletins are written for the benefit of housekeepers 
and teachers, and aim to present simply and clearly the scientific results 
as determined in the laboratory. 

The Principles of Jelly Making 
Some Points in Choosing Textiles 

Some Points to be Considered in the Planning of a Rational Diet 
Some Points in the Making and Judging of Bread 
The Cooking of Carp 
The Service of Meals 
The Planning of Meals 
The Rural School Lunch 

Syllabus of Domestic Science and Domestic Art for the High Schools of 
Illinois 



28 Agriculture at the University nf Illinois 

Outlines for Work in Domestic Science and Domestic Art for the 

Elementary Schools of Illinois 
Announcement of Extension Service in Household Science 
Home Economics Demonstration Car 

SPECIAL FEATURES OF EXTENSION WORK 

Three features of the extension work deserve special mention — the 
health work, the demonstration car, and the county adviser. 

The health work is conducted by a woman trained in home economics 
and in nursing. It deals with questions of home sanitation, personal 
hygiene, emergencies, first aid, and the care of the mother and child. When 
statistics show that the death rate of children is higher in the country than 
in the slum districts of our crowded cities, it is time something were being 
clone for the country child. In order that the Household Science Depart- 
ment may be ready to do its part in the event of war, this instructor has 
prepared to give the work outlined by the Red Cross organization, and is 
offering work in the Summer Session under the name of Community Health. 
During the year .January 1. l!)l(j, to January 1, 1917, she delivered 225 
lectures and demonstrations in :!'_' counties of the state. 

HOME ECONOMICS DEMONSTRATION CAR 

The Household Science Department has equipped a demonstration car 
which is at the service of any community of the state. 

This ear marks a new departure in extension work. Hitherto, de- 
monstrations in Home Economics have been confined largely to the cook- 
ing of food. It is the purpose of this car to extend this method of pre- 
sentation to power equipment and house furnishings; to actually show 
machines, kitchen utensils, and color schemes, not just to talk about them. 

In accordance with this idea, this car shows how power commonly 
used upon the farm may also be employed in performing a large part of the 
heavy labor of the home; how to secure an adequate water supply for both 
the house and barn with the necessary provision for sewage disposal; and, 
finally, how, by attention to equipment and to the principles of form and 
color, the essentials of comfortable living may be secured for the country 
home at a reasonable cost. 

The equipment consists of: 

I. A gasoline engine operating the washing machine, mangle, cream 
separator, vacuum cleaner, ice cream freezer, etc. 

II. Installation of a hot and cold water system under pressure for house 
and barn, operated by the same machine. 

III. Electric lighting system for private home. 

IV. Septic tank and sewage disposal. 

V. House furnishings. This includes a great variety of furnishings 
from kitchen utensils to furniture and color schemes for the living room 




DUf?//VG THE. V£*if? 

Usvsi/, /sve-iJAM./, /a/7. 

■ so4/o# /<5;a go 
~T07?U^5Q,&9<S. 



^v/r/y f/eOTfs /AO/c-fT-f^ a/oms£/? o^ 7 " i^eews o/=~ aeMOA^ 



The Household Science Department 29 

and the bed room, so that the housekeeper may see how, if care is given to 
color, texture, and quality, a house may be furnished attractively at a 
reasonable cost, and also how time and energy may be saved by the wise 
selection of utensils and by system in their arrangement. 

The car and its equipment provide sufficient material for demonstration 
work for a week. It is designed to reach housekeepers under conditions 
favorable to a thoughtful study of the equipment, so it is not feasible to 
use the car in connection with a movable school, a farmers' institute, or as 
an addition to other enterprises. It is proposed to spend five days at a 
point. The general plan is to have the car open each morning for inspection 
with two demonstrators to explain the equipment ; to have a demonstration 
each afternoon, and a lecture in the evening in a suitable hall. This ar- 
rangement of time leaves opportunity, if desired, for the demonstrators to 
visit a farm home for the purposes of inspection and suggestion. 

The work of the demonstration car and of the county adviser are con- 
ducted under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act and in cooperation 
with the United States Department of Agriculture. The car seems the best 
possible way of carrying to the rural communities ideas and suggestions 
for home equipment. 

COUNTY ADVISER IN HOME ECONOMICS 

It is a matter of congratulation that Illinois was the first of the northern 
states to undertake the maintenance of a county adviser for women. This 
work is conducted in cooperation with the women of Kankakee county 
under the name of the Home Improvement Association. It is now in the 
second year of its development and bids fair to add a substantial increase 
to the 6,000 people served last year. 

NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

The statement of the work now in progress makes very evident the great 
need of the Department — adequate provision for maintenance and growth, 
so that by the time the last year of the biennium is reached there will remain 
sufficient funds to meet the increased demands due to growth. As a matter 
of fact, the expenditures for this year have been reduced to the buying only 
of that which was absolutely necessary for student use. Investigation, 
publication of extension bulletins, and the purchase of equipment of all 
kinds, have been postponed because the funds have necessarily been ex- 
pended in caring for the increased demands for student insti'uction. 

The Woman's Building serves as an attractive and convenient labora- 
tory for the Household Science Department. It will afford sufficient space 
for another biennium, but the equipment both of faculty and of materials 
must be greatly enlarged in the immediate future if this Department is to 
meet its responsibilities and opportunities for service in the homes and 
health of the people of Illinois. 



30 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

SMITH-LEVER EXTENSION 

FROM the first the outside activities of the College of Agriculture have 
been very great. Members of the faculty have been called upon to 
attend thousands of meetings and discuss with farmers the progress of in- 
vestigations and the newer methods of agricultural practice. So has deep 
cultivation of corn been made to give place to shallow 7 cultivation ; so has 
exhaustion of the soils of the state been arrested by a better care of our 
stock of fertility and the establishment of a really permanent system of 
agriculture. 

The value of this outside work has been widely recognized. Until 
recently it has been mostly promoted by people already overworked in the 
classroom or the laboratory, but in the spring of 1914 Congress passed 
what is known as the Smith-Lever extension bill by which was established 
in every state of the union a definite demonstration service both in agricul- 
ture and in home economics. 

The amount to come to Illinois from the federal treasury under the 
Smith-Lever Act for the coming year is $80,085.86, which is available for 
demonstration service, mainly under a system of county advisers supported 
jointly by the local associations and this fund. Under this plan twenty- 
three counties are now in full operation, with advisers whom they themselves 
have employed after meeting three conditions imposed by the College of 
Agriculture, which is made the custodian of the Smith-Lever fund. The 
three conditions are that the adviser must be a college graduate; that he 
must have actually lived upon the farm for at least five years; and that 
he must have had at least five years' successful experience in some line 
of agricultural work since graduation. 

The Smith-Lever work in home economics has already been outlined 
in the Household Science section of this report. 




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WHAT THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND 
EXPERIMENT STATION NEED 

'"r^HE growth of the agricultural work of the University has been beyond 
*■ all expectation, and the demands upon the institution have overtaken 
and are far exceeding its facilities. "What the institution needs in order to 
meet these demands is: 

First, A stronger faculty 

Second. The strengthening of certain lines of work 

Third. Additional room 

I. A STRONGER TEACHING FACULTY 

The real teaching power of the agricultural faculty is greatly reduced 
by the fact that over one-third of the staff must give their entire time to 
the work of the Experiment Station, extension, and administration ; while 
some three-fourths of the remainder give part time to experiment station 
work, extension service, or graduate study. Effective service in the class- 
room is still further reduced by the fact that much of the equipment of 
the College of Agriculture is in fields and herds that require a very great 
amount of labor in their proper care. 

The actual result is that even tho men are overworked, they are still 
unable to give sufficient attention to the student body. The only relief is a 
substantial addition to the number of the agricultural staff. 

The University of Illinois has been slowly beating its way upward 
among the institutions of the country in paying salaries sufficient to hold 
in its service the picked men of the faculty. In this it has been fairly 
successful, especially in later years, but new conditions are bringing 
new demands, and unless the resources of the College of Agriculture can 
be substantially increased, we shall be unable to maintain that tested body 
of teachers and investigators without which the University would be unable 
to render satisfactory service. 

It is inevitable that a considerable portion of a faculty must con- 
sist of young and inexperienced people still in the list of learners, 
because in no other way can instructors and investigators be trained. It 
is also inevitable that if these men are to live normal lives, they must be 
paid, even while completing their education and training, salaries sufficient 
to provide the necessities; otherwise the supply of faculty material will be 
cut off at its source. 

Until the present time we have been able to secure these young men 
at very moderate salaries, so moderate that the wages now paid to janitors 
frequently equal and in some cases exceed salaries paid to assistants. Clearly, 
the increased cost of living indicates that something must be done at this 
point. Besides, a new competition is springing up from neighboring 
institutions. 



32 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

If there were a reliable and adequate supply of faculty material, the 
institution would be freed from much embarrassment in the training of 
teachers and investigators, and the service could be much more cheaply and 
effectively rendered, but such a supply does not exist and the University of 
Illinois, like all other of the larger institutions, has no choice but to do its 
share in the preparation of teachers and research men. 

II. THE STRENGTHENING OF CERTAIN LINES OF WORK 

No marked additions have been made to the offerings in the College or 
the work of the Experiment Station during the last half dozen years. In the 
meantime certain subjects have come to the front which have been either 
entirely neglected, or undertaken only in a feeble way : for example, Farm 
Organization and Management, involving the study of farming from the 
standpoint of economics rather than of chemistry or biology ; research work 
in Farm Machinery, which has been studied mainly from the standpoint of 
the designer, not the operator; Poultry husbandry, which is beginning to be 
a large subject in a state like Illinois: more exhaustive work in Animal 
Diseases, particularly with reference to the instruction of agricultural 
students in the care of live stock: a considerable increase in facilities for 
instruction and research in new phases of the Food Problem both from 
the public and the private point of view, with further work in Home Nurs- 
ing; and extension work with boys and girls in agriculture and home 
economics both in connection with schools and with local clubs. 

Such new and important subjects should be equipped for the best grade 
of instruction, and in some cases for research as well. 

Besides such subjects of generally recognized importance, there are 
others, like bee-keeping, which have long pressed upon the attention of 
the University and which have been neglected for no other reason than 
lack of funds. Vast amounts of honey are going to waste in the forests 
and fields simply because a sufficient stock of bees is not maintained for its 
gathering. Scanning our possible resources in this fashion, we should find 
many other enterprises which ought to be seriously undertaken, but the 
problem is so vast that only the most pressing needs can be met at the 
present time. Even so, considerable additions of funds are necessary. 

In a very considerable sense the Agricultural College and Experiment 
Station have been marking time in recent years. The present budget, ex- 
clusive of buildings, is but 5 percent higher than the budget four years ago ; 
whereas the student registration has increased 32 percent, the agricultural 
faculty 27 percent, the graduating class 136 percent, and the graduate 
students 200 percent. 

In order to live with the situation at all, we have been forced to close 
certain classes against additional students even on the first day of registra- 
tion, and we have been obliged to greatly change the conditions for gradu- 
ation in order to give the students wider liberty in finding courses not 



Needs of the College and Station 33 

filled and which might be offered for credit. We have about reached the 
limit even of these devices, and something significant will have to be done 
without delay if the College is not to be injured and students actually 
turned away. 

To strengthen the faculty and enable it to meet the increased demands 
in both old and new lines of work, and to provide proper equipment for 
the same will require additional funds to the amount of not less than 
$125,000 annually. 

III. ADDITIONAL ROOM 

Six years ago upon the recommendation of a committee of citizens 
which visited half a dozen other institutions, the Trustees of the University 
asked the Legislature for $337,500 for an addition to the Agricultural 
Building. During the session it became necessary to sacrifice either this 
asking or the increased funds for maintenance. With the conditions threat- 
ening, the building was sacrificed in the interest of caring for students, 
hoping that space would make itself available. The wisdom of this move was 
shown by the fact that since that time (1911) the student attendance has 
increased over 64 percent. Without the funds provided at that time, it 
would have long ago become necessary to turn away agricultural students. 

We have, however, been pressed for room even beyond our anticipation 
six years ago. 

In spite of additional space provided in the new Stock Judging 
Pavilion and the Floricultural laboratories, we have been obliged to roof 
over the court of the Agricultural Building and also erect a temporary 
structure for genetics. After doing this, we have overflowed into all sorts of 
available buildings, even into private houses, until the offices of the College 
of Agriculture are scattered in ten different buildings upon the campus — 
from Springfield avenue on the north to the Stock Judging Pavilion nearly 
a mile to the south. Clearly, this scattered condition makes the best work 
impossible. 

UNABLE TO SERVE STUDENTS 

Besides, we are unable properly to serve the students. The laboratory 
equipment of certain courses is so far below the present registration that 
many students are unable during their entire sojourn to get the instruction 
they came especially to receive. 

The inevitable result of such a condition of things is best pointed out 
by calling attention to the fact that since 1900 there has been an average 
annual increase in students of 65, in recent years approaching and some- 
times exceeding 100 (1912, 100; 1913, 76; 1914, 109; 1915, 170; 1916, 71), 
until the present year, in which the registration has fallen off some- 
thing more than 50. When an annual increase of approximately 100 be- 
comes a decrease of 50, it is time to consider the conditions and take stock 



34 Agriculture at the University of Illinois 

of the situation, particularly when the registration in the University as a 
whole has increased during the present year as in other years. 

It is of course impossible to state to what causes this decreased attend- 
ance is due, but remembering that the attendance in the institution as a 
whole has increased while that in Agriculture has suddenly decreased after 
sixteen years of rapid rise, the suspicion is well founded that our inability 
to meet the demands of the students as they ought to be met is responsible 
for at least a good proportion of this decline, particularly as the decline set 
in last year (the increase being 71 as compared with 170 and 109 in the 
two former years). Students have noticed these limitations to our work 
and have been talking about them for three or four years. As this condition 
becomes chronic, it cannot but deter students from coming or send them 
to other states. 

POSSIBILITIES FOR RELIEF 

There are but three things that can be done to relieve the situation: 

First. Limit the attendance of students, frankly cutting down the 
number to those that can be accommodated under present conditions. 

Second. Put up temporary structures to be wrecked after a few years. 

Third. Provide at the earliest possible moment properly constructed 
permanent buildings. 

Clearly, the public would not approve the policy of turning away 
students. The construction of temporary buildings to be wrecked in a few 
years would only postpone the problem, not solve it. The erection of any- 
thing but permanent buildings is not feasible; first, because, with valuable 
records, the fire risk in any but permanent buildings is too great; and 
second, because the repair of such buildings under the heavy uses of a uni- 
\ ersity soon comes to cost more than the buildings are worth. 

THE ONLY FEASIBLE SOLUTION 

The only feasible solution is a fire-proof construction of the most durable 
sort, plain in its architecture but adapted to the purposes of university work. 

Inasmuch as the present Agricultural Building stands on a portion of 
the campus which in the growth of the University is needed for purposes 
other than agriculture, this plant should be erected upon the South Campus, 
and it should be large enough to shelter the entire classroom, laboratory, 
and office needs for both the College of Agriculture and the Experiment Sta- 
tion. To do this it must provide not less than 300,000 square feet of floor- 
space, which for fireproof, permanent, and creditable construction accord- 
ing to architects' estimates will cost $2,000,000. 

This is a very large sum of money ; but when it is remembered that the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has just invested $7,000,000 in an 
engineering plant, and that a new Illinois Agricultural College building 
should take care of the educational needs of more than 2,000 students, with 
offices, laboratories, library, and other equipment for faculty work, the 
amount is clearly a minimum. 



002 774 975 6 




